


When To Say No

by Emme2589



Series: A Trio of Heroes [2]
Category: Henry Stickmin Series (Video Games)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, Kissing, Multi, No Smut, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Polyamory, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Rough Kissing, Sleepy Cuddles, Suggestive Themes, Swearing, Teasing, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, just a snugglefic, why do i have so many rarepairs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:28:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27312634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emme2589/pseuds/Emme2589
Summary: Ellie can be unpredictable, but Henry knows that what always changes isn't as important as what stays the same.
Relationships: Charles Calvin/Ellie Rose, Charles Calvin/Ellie Rose/Henry Stickmin, Charles Calvin/Henry Stickmin, Henry Stickmin/Ellie Rose
Series: A Trio of Heroes [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1971646
Comments: 1
Kudos: 55





	When To Say No

"Henry, where do we keep the paprika?"

"Spice rack in the cupboard by the fridge. Third row."

Ellie and I moved back and forth between each other in the kitchen, methodically going through the motions of preparing dinner. She went about gathering ingredients and preheating the oven while I put things away and cleaned up spills and such. When the dish came out of the oven, smelling strongly of cheese, bacon, and potatoes, Ellie held up her hand to give me a high five.

Ellie was a bit of an enigma. Charles wore his heart on his sleeve, but Ellie seemed to have different personas for every situation. Just when I thought I understood her, she did something that surprised me, and I found myself trying to figure her out again. Sometimes, she acted sweet, readjusting the hood on my hoodie so she had an excuse to run her thumb from under my ear to my chin, or brushing her hand against mine in that subtle way that said, _"I'm waiting for you to make a move, silly."_ Other times, she teased me relentlessly, using my height against me by pushing against my chest with her shoulder so I couldn't reach something she was holding down below, or sticking her tongue out at me as she told me exactly what she knew would push my buttons, which made my face flush red as I stomped my feet in frustration.

However, there was one thing I could always count on. One thing that stayed constant about her no matter what.

If she had even the slightest hint that I was truly upset, she would stop and apologize. It didn't matter if the queue from me was a sad frown, harsh breathing, or gathering tears, she seemed to have a knack for knowing exactly when it wasn't fun for me anymore, and she would go right back to being sweet Ellie rather than annoying and stupid Ellie that was just crafty enough to get on my nerves.

This was exemplified by the following event.

The TV droned on, the volume low so as not to wake Charles. I could tell by nothing more than a glance that he'd had a long day. In fact, he hadn't even had time to look at the meal Ellie and I had prepared before he face-planted into his pillows and passed out. He looked like a walking corpse until he started snoring, so we decided not to bother him. I made a mental note to make him his favorite breakfast in about nine hours or so as Ellie put on a movie, and we sat beside each other, my feet propped up on the coffee table, which I'd never do if Charles was awake and watching, mind you.

Ellie began to lean into me, practically lying over my lap, and I tried to ignore the way my skin tingled beneath her weight.

As the movie continued, I began to notice that I wasn't paying attention anymore. Ellie was drawing circles into my thigh with her finger, her fingernail making soft sounds against the fabric of my jeans. Her head rested on my shoulder, her hair falling over my collarbone and tickling my neck. My vision blurred slightly at the edges as I stopped seeing and only felt. It wasn't necessarily uncomfortable, but it distracted me. It freaked me out. I could feel my heart pounding, my skin breaking out in goosebumps wherever she touched. I was stuck between pulling her closer and pushing her away.

Finally, she wrapped her arms around my torso, her breath falling over a sensitive patch of skin on my neck, and the words came out before I could stop them.

"Ellie, can you please stop doing that?"

She jumped back, sitting on the edge of the couch while facing away from me, "S-sorry. I was just...I-I'm sorry."

I immediately felt bad. There was an apology on my lips, but at the last second, I stopped myself. I couldn't explain my reaction. I was already feeling cold from the distance she'd just put between us. What had made me want her to stop?

I let out a long sigh, "No, Ellie, it's fine. You didn't do anything wrong."

I hadn't meant to ask her to move so bluntly. I wanted to pull her in again, but instead I tried to figure out what had made me react in such a way.

"Has that always bothered you?"

I looked up at her, "Huh?"

"Has it always bothered you?" she asked louder, turning back towards me as she tucked her hair behind her ear, "My... _clinginess._ I never wanted to make you uncomfortable."

"Oh, no, that's..." I hesitantly placed a hand on her back, "It usually doesn't. I don't know what's up with me today."

She leaned forward on her knees, resting her chin in her hand. I picked up the remote to pause the movie. There's no point in playing it if we aren't watching, right?

"I'm sorry, Henry."

"Please, Ellie. You don't have to apologize." I tilted my head to meet her gaze, "I think...I just got really nervous. There's something about the darkness around the TV and the quiet...I dunno. You just... _seemed..."_

I could feel my face heating up as I trailed off, rubbing my neck as I looked down at the carpet.

I could see Ellie's smile in my peripheral vision. Her hand gingerly brushed my cheek. My nervousness ramped up again. I let my eyes slip closed.

"You're really cute, Henry. You know that?"

"Hm?" I looked up at her. She was still smiling.

"You're cute." she repeated, "That's why I like to tease you so much. You get all flustered, and your voice gets all quiet and squeaky...I think it's so precious!"

I frowned at her indignantly, and she laughed.

"See? You look like a disappointed little puppy."

I recoiled when she tried to pinch my cheek, "Hey! Cut that out!"

"Sorry, sorry!" she waved her hands in surrender, "I don't mean to get carried away. I'm always kinda worried that I'm pushing you too hard."

"So how come you were leaning over me like that?"

"I don't know!" she tugged on her bangs, her red hair falling between her fingers, "Charles always lets me do that, and...it comforts me to be held like that. Sometimes...I just want to be the girlfriend, you know?"

I was once again at a loss. Here I was, thinking she was pushing her luck on purpose, but in reality, she probably just didn't notice what she was doing. I knew the reason Ellie was so physically affectionate; It was because after being alone at The Wall for so long, having access to friendly people made her a little touchy. I guess she was touch-starved, coupled with the trauma of feeling nothing around her but concrete walls and freezing Russian air. I certainly knew the feeling of loneliness.

"Touch doesn't have to be sexual, Henry."

Her voice startled me. It was so quiet in the room that the only thing we could hear was the laundry machine running in another apartment a few doors down, so compared to that, her sudden quiet declaration was like a bomb being dropped.

"You said it feels intimate like this, but if something like that makes you nervous, then nothing has to happen. Ah, sorry, you probably already know that. I'll just-!"

"Ellie."

I took her hand before she could stand to leave. We froze like that, her halfway to her feet. She glanced between me and my grip on her wrist.

I suddenly came to my senses, and I let go, sitting back on the couch with a hand over my mouth, "Er, um...if you, uh...wanna keep snuggling... _I don't mind..."_

She searched my face for signs of deceit, "Are you sure? Before, you said..."

"I know, I know." I exhaled slowly, "It was just something about the situation, I think. Really, I'm fine. If I'm uncomfortable again, I'll let you know."

She still seemed a bit unsure, biting her lip as she gazed at me in concern. Finally though, I opened my arms out to her, and she slowly sat back on the couch beside me, one arm snaking under my arm and around my back while the other rested on my hip. Her head rested in the crook of my neck, and her hair made the goosebumps come back tenfold. I touched her back, picking up the remote again to rewind slightly. I don't know why I was intent on finishing this movie, considering I don't even remember what it was now.

As the movie continued, I once again noticed that I was no longer paying attention, but at first, I couldn't figure out why. I took stock of where I was in space, tracing Ellie's form with my gaze until I realized what was going on; The hand on my hip had slid up my shirt and was lightly rubbing at the skin. What I was feeling was the steady pressure against my side, first above, then below the fabric.

My breath hitched as I rested my head on hers, my eyes squeezing shut.

Her thumb stilled, "You okay, Hen?"

"Y-yeah. Fine." I moved the arm around her so it trailed down her side, letting my hand rest on her hip, "You're fine, Ells. Keep going."

One thing I needed to keep in mind at all times; If you told Ellie to go ahead with something, she took that as her official green light. It's a good thing Charles and I have some semblance of impulse control, because Ellie can and will continue something until someone else tells her to stop, no matter what it is she's doing. Sometimes, not even that was enough, depending on what she had her eye on.

So as soon as I told her to keep going, her thumb resumed its slow movement around my hip. I focused intently on the TV screen, forcing slower breaths in through my lungs to calm my nerves. As she continuously massaged over the spot on my skin, I lightly gripped her thigh while I brought my other hand to rest on her waist, slowly reaching under her shirt to feel her spine. I smiled to myself as my soft touch brought goosebumps to her skin as well.

In response, Ellie reached further up my shirt until she reached my ribs, and I swallowed to prevent my breath hitching again. She paused, then she used her thumbnail to run a trail up my back, reaching my shoulder blade before she switched to her fingertips, swirling around the skin lightly in contrast to the scratching from before. I was _definitely_ not paying attention to the movie now.

I wasn't taking that without retaliation, so I reached up until I found her bra strap, lifting it up with my knuckle to trace her spine all the way up to her shoulder blades. She stiffened, then she gave a low hum, burrowing further into my hold to kiss my neck.

_Alright! That does it!_

In one quick motion, I grabbed her hips and pushed her off of me as my lips connected with hers. She threw her arms around my neck, returning my kiss with fire, pushing back on me to hold herself up as her hands came down to my chest and she gently bit my bottom lip. I gasped in surprise, allowing her inside, and our tongues slid across each other as if in some sloppy choreographed dance. I tilted my head to lock our lips, our teeth clashing as I tried to go deeper, until eventually, she gave me a massive shove, and I fell on my back across the seat of the couch. She held herself up on all fours above me, her knees on either side of my waist as her arms rested below mine.

There must have been fear in my eyes, because she quickly backed off, "Sorry! Sorry, I'll-!"

"Wait!" I grabbed the front of her shirt before she could retreat, "I'm fine. It's fine."

She relaxed, leaning over me so her hair fell down around her face, "You sure?"

I swallowed again, giving a slow nod as I brushed her hair back with my fingers, "Yeah. Actually, I...I _like_ it. It feels _good."_

She dropped so she was crushing me into the couch with her body, holding herself up on her elbows on either side of my chest, "You promise?"

I felt a fluttering in my stomach. She was close enough now that her breath ghosted over my face. This was new. I'd never had a serious relationship before, so not only was this uncharted territory, I was also giving myself over to someone when I was used to being alone.

It was so nerve-wracking.

"Yeah. I promise. I...I trust you, Ellie." I pulled her head closer to mine, "Are you comfortable like this?"

"Yeah. This is fine." she kissed my cheek, "God, Henry. I love you."

I shyly returned her smile, "I love you too."

She pulled me into another kiss, though she was being much more gentle this time. Her lips teased me, pulling back occasionally, just grazing the skin, and somehow, this drove me even crazier than when she used force. I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from laughing, though my chest shook with involuntary giggles anyway. I could tell I had this big, goofy grin, and my face was certainly red as a tomato, but I didn't care. As Ellie's lips traced my jaw and then my neck and collarbone, I could feel the love and care she poured into each little kiss, showering me with them, trying to suppress laughter herself as I squirmed underneath her in pure glee. Her lips were cool against my clammy skin. Cool and soft.

 _"Ahh..."_ I sighed, shutting my eyes as my head rolled back, my hands finding her legs as she propped herself up and giving each thigh a firm squeeze to egg her on, "J-Jesus, Ellie... _mmm..."_

"Stop moving around so much!" she tried to sound frustrated, but I could tell she was still trying and failing to suppress her laughter, "I'm going to fall if you don't quit it!"

"As if!" feeling useless, I forced her head off my neck to reconnect our lips, _"You're too stubborn to fall off me now."_

She chuckled into my mouth, the smell of cheese and bacon wafting over me on her breath, _"Alright. Ya got me. Just let me love you, dumbass."_

I pulled her back to look at her, her half-lidded gaze sweeping over me as she smiled breathlessly.

I felt my heart soar as her eyes turned wide and earnest.

 _This_ is Ellie!

Her hand slid up my shirt again, tracing my skin from my stomach to my chest, and in a panic, I snatched her wrist, almost certainly squeezing it too hard.

Her smile fell, switching back to concern, "Henry?"

I replaced my hoodie over my torso, "Let's just..." I pulled her into another kiss, holding her against my body, "...keep our clothes on, yeah?"

"Of course. Anything for you, baby."

I fumbled for the TV remote, hiding my embarrassment at the pet name behind pausing the movie and trying to figure out how much we'd just missed.

"Here." Ellie took the remote, her head falling onto my shoulder as she clicked through the scenes, "I can pay attention to more than one thing at a time, you know."

"Sounds fake, but okay."

She laughed again, getting to the right scene and dropping the remote to the ground. She nuzzled into the crook of my neck as the movie went on, and I held her like that, my hand drawing circles into her back until we were both fast asleep.

***


End file.
